


Just a Friday Night

by leighemersona



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Mention of blood, minor lab accident, rough childhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighemersona/pseuds/leighemersona
Summary: Just a typical Friday night with cut hands, backstories and lots of Holtzbert. Hope you enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

“Ouch!” Holtzmann yelled out. She gripped her hand and looked down to see red dripping to the floor. “Shit, shit, shit”, she muttered and looked around for something to staunch the bleeding. She had been working on repairing Abby’s proton pack when her hand slipped and the screwdriver she had been holding effectively sliced her. She grabbed a shirt that was laying on the back of the couch in the corner of her workspace and sucked in air as she pressed it to the side of hand which was now covered in blood. She heard someone coming up the stairs and quickly stuck her hand behind her so that whoever it was wouldn’t freak out.  
“Hey Holtz, have you seen my purple shirt? I think I left it up here the last time we did laundry”, Erin said as she came up the last two steps. She glanced around the couch and then looked over at Holtzmann, who to her credit, was keeping cool despite the fact that she was still bleeding.  
“Uhh…nope. Haven’t seen any purple shirt around here. Sorry Erin. Nice to see you, bye”, Holtzmann said and then winced as her hand started stinging behind her back. Erin looked at her suspiciously before walking over to her. She raised her eyebrows and then said to Holtzmann, “Let me see your hands. Now.” Holtzmann looked at the floor before raising both hands up in the air. The one that was wrapped up in Erin’s shirt looked like a mummy hand that had been dipped in red paint.  
“Holtzmann! Let me see your hand. Do we need to go to the hospital? Are you feeling light headed at all?”, Erin sputtered out at a million miles per hour. She unwrapped Holtzmann’s hand and then winced out of sympathy. There was a deep gash and it looked painful. Erin looked up at the engineer and saw a little pang of panic at the mention of a hospital.  
“Ok, no hospital. Let me help doctor that up at least? Please?” Erin asked in a small voice. Holtzmann nodded and then let Erin lead her over to the industrial sink that she had installed weeks before to rinse and clean off parts she had dug out of trash piles. Erin turned on the water and told Holtzmann to rinse her hand off. Erin hurried downstairs to go and grab the medical kit that they kept around in case of emergencies. Holtzmann watched her go and then smiled. Nothing like a little stabbing to get Erin to go all ‘Mom mode’ on her. Not that she was complaining.  
“So I’ve got alcohol, both rubbing and whiskey out of Abby’s stash for drinking, thank god her and Patty have already left for the weekend or else I would be a dead woman, and bandages and I think you might need stitches so I’ve got the sewing kit here as well. But for the record I think that we should be doing all of this in a hospital. And it shouldn’t be us, it should be a medical professional.” Erin said as she came back up the stairs. Hotlzmann let out a laugh and just said, “Give me all of that stuff and then you can go. I can be a doctor.” She winked at Erin who blushed and then said in a serious tone, “I’m not going to leave you alone while you do anything. I can help.”  
Erin watched as Holtzmann opened the bottle of whiskey with her mouth and took a swig. Erin took the bottle as Holtzmann offered her some and shook her head stating that, “One of us should be sober as we put a needle in you.” That made Holtzmann laugh. Erin got the rubbing alcohol and stood next to the engineer. “Ready?” Erin asked nervously. “Yeah I think so. It’s going to hurt like a bitch so let’s go ahead and get it over with.” Holtzmann said and then she sucked in a huge breath and closed her eyes. Erin poured the alcohol over the hand and winced out as Holtzmann’s body jerked out of pain. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” Erin muttered under her breath, feeling bad that her friend was hurting so much.  
Holtzmann shook her hand of the alcohol and then rinsed it one more time with water in the sink before going and sitting up at her workstation. She took the sewing kit off of the table and tried to open it with one hand with obvious struggle. “Hey, Ghost Girl, can you, uh, give me a hand? It seems as though I’m all right, right now.” She said trying to crack a joke. She watched as Erin walked over towards her and pulled a seat out to sit down next to her. “So have you ever stitched anyone up before?” Holtzmann asked, trying to distract Erin, who was very evidently starting to freak out again. Erin shook her head quickly. Holtzmann nodded and then took Erin’s shaky hand in her own good one and looked at her saying, “Hey, take a deep breath. I’ll tell you exactly what to do. It’s not that hard and there’s no one else that I would trust to do this besides you. You got this.”  
Erin looked at Holtzmann for a good beat longer than she intended. It’s just that those blue eyes were quite mesmerizing and she was the sole focus of them. Erin nodded slowly before looking away and saying, “So how do you know how to do this anyways?” Holtzmann evaded the question by instead saying, “Ok so you’re going to want that grab that black threading and the smallest needle that’s in there.” Erin followed her instructions and went over to the sink to disinfect the needle and her own hands before returning. “Ok now tie the thread…yeah that’s good. Good job Gilbert. Ok now comes the trickiest part. But don’t worry you got it.” Holtzmann said as she directed Erin how to get the needle into her skin. She sucked in a breath as quietly as she could manage so that she wouldn’t spook Erin, but because Erin was so sensitive to how people were feeling, she of course felt the engineer tense up as soon as she got close with the needle.  
“Sorry, was I doing something wrong?” Erin asked worriedly. Holtzmann shook her head and then let out her pent up breath saying, “Give me some more of that whisky though. And you’re taking a drink to, to get rid of those nerves.” Erin grinned sheepishly before grabbing the whisky and taking a swig. She knew it wasn’t the best idea, not being clear headed when basically preforming surgery but she also knew that it would make Holtzmann feel better. She had never seen Holtzmann this calm though. It was almost like she was a different person, or maybe she was just trying not to make her jump because of the needle. Or maybe it was the whiskey.  
“Ok so go ahead and start. You’re going to want to weave it, and try to make it tight so that the skin actually has a chance to heal. Oh and try not to maim my hand. Although I wouldn’t be opposed to having a cool scar.” Holtzmann said with a half-smile and then winced when Erin started. She took another drink and then closed her eyes, compartmentalizing the pain and the fact that Erin was actually taking care of her. She knew that she shouldn’t be so happy that the reason that Erin was holding her hand was because she was wounded but she couldn’t help it. Holtzmann opened one eye to look at Erin. She was focused intently on Holtzmann’s hand but she looked up when she felt a gaze on her. She smiled a little smile at the engineer before asking, “Am I doing it right?” Holtzmann looked down and examined the neat work that Erin had done so far and nodded. “Are you sure you haven’t done this before Gilbert?”  
“I haven’t. But it seems that maybe you have before.” Erin answered and looked back down at Holtzmann’s hand. She knew that she probably shouldn’t be probing for answers but it was really bugging her that it seemed like Holtzmann knew how to give people stitches. And the fact that when she had mentioned the hospital, Holtzmann had practically seized up. “Are you trying to pry into my past there Erin?” Holtzmann asked with a hint of wistfulness in her voice. Erin felt bad then. She shouldn’t have asked. Erin shook her head and then said, “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I was just curious.”  
Holtzmann was lost in her thoughts for a full minute which worried Erin. Usually the blonde would just say whatever was on her mind, no matter who was in the room. The fact that she was actually debating whether or not to speak was new to Erin.  
“When I was growing up, I had to learn how to stitch up the other kids I lived with. We were foster kids who moved around a lot. We had to stick together and because I was one of the oldest ones, I had to learn how to take care of the younger kids. Usually I would be stitching them up if I hadn’t gotten to them fast enough to get in between them and whoever was taking care of us that time. And I say that term loosely. The adults we were placed with never really took care of us. We had to take care of ourselves.” Holtzmann said quietly and bitterly before taking a long drink. Erin didn’t look up to meet her eyes. She had had no idea about Holtzmann’s past. Abby had never said anything, although now she was wondering if Abby had any idea herself. Erin continued to stitch carefully. She was almost done. She felt Holtzmann looking up but she didn’t want to meet her eyes because she didn’t know how to respond.  
“Ok. Done.” Erin said and released Holtzmann’s hand. Holtzmann didn’t even look at her hand. She was still staring at Erin who was already cleaning up and still avoiding Holtzmann’s gaze. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. Now you can’t even look at me.” Holtzmann mumbled before getting up from her seat. “No, wait Holtz, it’s not that. I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to say to that. I shouldn’t have tried to dig into your past. I had no idea about your childhood. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. I’m sorry.” Erin said, facing Holtzmann. She walked slowly over to the engineer who was looking at the ground and for whatever reason, Erin felt to urge to give her a hug. To wrap her up in her arms and make sure she knew that she was loved, and that Erin wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, she bent her body and face down so that Holtzmann could see her and then smiled a big, goofy grin which made Holtzmann smile. Holtzmann looked up and laughed at Erin who was still grinning like an idiot. “You have got to work on that smile Gilbert. It makes your face look even dorkier than it already is. Thank you for helping me and my hand by the way. You don’t have to stick around; I’m heading to bed I think.” Holtzmann said.  
“You think I’m just going to leave you alone in the firehouse after today? No way ma’am. I’ll take the couch. I have to make sure that you don’t at least die from all of your blood loss. Also I had a drink so I can’t actually go anywhere because of the legality and the fact that I could hurt someone.” Erin stated. “Ok but I’m warning you now, from experience, that that couch is an absolute nightmare to sleep on. You’re welcome to come join me at any time tonight.” Holtzmann said with a wink before climbing the stairs to her room on the third floor. She was the only one of the Ghostbusters who lived full time in the firehouse because she was convinced that if she wasn’t there, that her inventions would get stolen.  
Holtzmann opened her bedroom door and flicked the light on before flopping onto her bed. She couldn’t believe that she had told Erin all of that. It must have been the whiskey. Must have been. She hadn’t even told Abby any of those things. It had been hard to pull those memories up from her mind. They were pretty tightly locked up. She had spent years protecting the younger kids from everything that could have hurt them. The better part of her childhood had been on the receiving end of abuse so that no one else would get hurt. There had been long weeks where she wouldn’t sleep, waiting for someone to come into their room, waiting to spring into action to protect the younger kids. Months of being the punching bag of adults with their own issues who had no business of raising kids, who were just in it for the paychecks. Years of wondering why no one ever did anything about the system that she was a part of. That all of the kids were a part of. Years of wondering why it seemed that there were no good people in the world. And she thought of her parents. Something she hadn’t touched in many years. She hadn’t told Erin about them, which was how she liked it. It made it easier to forget about them again if no one else knew about them. She hadn’t meant to tell Erin about the foster homes but it had just come out. She thought of what Erin had said to her and then thought of how soft her skin had been when they were holding hands before drifting off to sleep with a smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for this short story so thank you for reading! Hope you liked it! And yes I realize that this one is shorter than the first chapter.

Her eyes were playing tricks on her. She saw shadows morph into creatures with teeth gnashing at her. Big wings that took all the light away when stretched out, and the noises she was imagining were deafening. The clicking of the mandibles that seemed strong enough to break her in half were the only things she could hear. The shadows seemed to be swallowing her up and she felt herself trying to scream, but nothing came out. Then her whole body was shaking and she closed her eyes but that only matched the darkness on the outside with what she had in her head and that scared her even more.  
“Holtzmann! Holtz wake up!” she heard someone shouting. Her eyes shot open and her body jerked up. She was covered in sweat and her heart was still racing from her dream. She looked around, scared that she was going to see the creatures from her head, but she only saw Erin who was sitting on the edge of her bed looking worried. Holtzmann realized that Erin must have been the one that woke her up. “Hey Gilbert. Try not to look so worried. I’m ok.” Holtzmann said half-heartedly while punching Erin lightly in the shoulder. “Holtz you were not just ok. I came in because I heard you yelling. What happened?” Erin asked with concern. “Nothing. Just a bad dream.”  
Erin looked at Holtzmann. She was shivering and was obviously shaken up by something. “Let me see your hand at least.” Erin said. Holtzmann held up her arm and Erin inspected the bandage. It was still clean which was good. “Holtz. What happened?” she asked. Holtzmann didn’t say anything. She looked at Erin and then shook her head, laying back down before she was asked any more questions. Erin looked at her and then pushed away a blush as she looked down the engineer’s body. She had more important things to attend to than her own feelings for Holtzmann. She wasn’t even really sure what those feelings were even. For another time she told herself. She got up and moved around the bed. She knelt down to where she was face to face with Holtzmann who was laying there just staring. It was obvious from her expression that she was thinking about something. Hard. Erin could practically see the parts in her mind turning something over and over. She knew enough about Holtzmann to know that once she started thinking about something, she would obsess about it until she had it figured out.   
Erin stood up slowly and reached toward the blanket at the foot of the bed. She pulled it up and over Holtzmann. “Are you ok here by yourself?” Erin asked cautiously. She didn’t want to leave Holtzmann alone but she wasn’t responding to any of her questions so she didn’t have much of a choice. Holtzmann didn’t reply so Erin walked to the door. She looked back and Holtzmann still hadn’t moved. Erin turned back around and descended the steps. She crawled back onto the couch where she had been trying to sleep hours before with no success. Before she had gone to check in on Holtzmann, her mind had been nit picking everything that Holtzmann had told her. Trying to understand how such a kind and warm hearted person had come from such past.   
Erin was staring up at the ceiling, still thinking, when she heard footsteps from the stairs. She glanced over and Holtzmann was standing there in the faint glow that was coming from her bedroom light behind her. “Hey Erin, could I sleep down here?” Holtzmann asked in a small voice, sounding very much like a defeated child. “Yeah sure, just let me...” Erin started before Holtzmann launched herself onto the couch and next to Erin. Erin was frozen for a moment as Holtzmann’s hands snaked their way around her body. Holtzmann was humming contently into her side so Erin put her arms around the younger girl. “Hey Holtz, you sure you don’t want to talk about what happened?” Erin asked in a soft voice, not sure if Holtzmann was asleep or not. Holtzmann didn’t reply right away so Erin assumed she wasn’t awake. Then she heard the engineer say in a whisper, “My parents died in a car accident.”  
It was quiet in the firehouse for a long while. Both women trying to figure out if the other one was about to speak and what they might say. Erin broke first. “How old were you?”   
“12.” Holtzmann replied in the same whispered voice. “I was in the backseat.”  
“My god Jillian…I had no idea. I’m so sorry.” Erin whispered back. She pulled Holtzmann in closer. Holtzmann didn’t say anything but Erin knew that she appreciated it. “Is that what your dream was about earlier?” Erin asked. “I don’t know. I think maybe because I had talked about being in foster care that those memories were just close enough for me to think about. But I’ll be ok. Sorry about waking you up.” Holtzmann said. “You didn’t wake me up. I was already up, thinking about you.” Erin said and then blushed a little at how it had sounded. Holtzmann’s head turned up to where she was facing Erin. She had a hint of a smile on her face. “You were thinking about me were you? I’m flattered.” Holtzmann said. “Hey don’t push it.” Erin said, relieved that it seemed Holtzmann was ok enough to be making jokes. “Hey Erin? Don’t tell the others about this please? I don’t want people knowing unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Holtzmann said before turning her head back down and away from Erin’s face. Erin nodded and then said, “I’ll take the secret to the grave. Even as a ghost, I won’t tell anyone. But umm…if you ever need to talk about it or anything…” Erin started to say before her mouth was covered by Holtzmann’s good hand. “Shhhhhh. Time to go to sleep Ghost Girl.” Holtzmann said and soon she was passed out, clinging to Erin.   
Erin stayed awake for a couple more hours. Mainly thinking about Holtzmann, the fact that she had trusted her enough to tell her personal secrets, and then the fact that here she was, basically cuddling with her while she was sleeping. And the fact that her whole body was warm and soft. And that she had chosen to sleep next to Erin. All things Holtzmann were on her mind until finally she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She fell asleep with a faint smile on her face after she kissed the top of Holtzmann’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys so this was my first ever fic that I've posted so umm let me know how I did if you want? And also thanks in advance for reading!!  
> Also I'm on tumblr, user: an-odd-variety-of-sorts


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